Family Vacation
by kayELRfan
Summary: Season 10. Episode 4. Ray has an interesting idea about their next family vacation.
1. A Suggestion

Disclaimer: I do not own ELR nor do I own any of the characters. 

A/N: I am working on writing the 10th season of Everybody Loves Raymond, this is the fourth episode. Please R&R!

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It's been a week and a half since Debra's accident and she is now back at home with her family. Ray and Debra are sitting on the couch looking through vacation brochures while the kids are eating breakfast in the kitchen.

"What looks good?" Ray asks Debra.

"I don't know. Everybody looks good right now!" she replies. "What looks good to you?"

Ray hands her a brochure. She looks at it, looks at him, and then bursts out laughing.

"That's a good one Ray!" she says between gasps for breath.

"What?" Ray asks with a bewildered expression on his face.

"You're serious?" Debra asks, trying to stop laughing enough to talk.

"Yeah!" Ray replies. "Don't you think it would be fun?"

"Ray!" she exclaims. "I can't drive across the country in an RV!"

"Why not?" Ray asks. "The doctor said you were fine!"

"He said I could get back to my normal lifestyle," Debra corrects him. "As long as I didn't do anything too stressful."

"Oh come on!" Ray sighs. "You won't have to drive or anything! You can lie down on a couch the whole time and I'll do all the work!"

"Ray! I'll be locked in a trailer with you and all the kids for two weeks!" she tells him. "How is that not stressful?!"

"It's not a trailer," Ray explains to her. "It's a recreational vehicle."

Debra gives him a dirty look.

"Mom!" Ally yells out from the kitchen. "They're doing it again!"

"Doing what?" Debra asks as she looks into the kitchen.

"They're telling me everything about that movie they went to see!" Ally complains. "And it's the one I was going to go see with Molly tonight."

"Boys!" Debra hollers at them. "What did I just tell you yesterday?"

"What?" the boys ask innocently.

"Ray!" Debra whines as she looks over at him. "Would you do something about them? They won't listen to a word I say!"

"Hey you two!" he hollers at the twins. "Cut that out or I'm going to hang you from your toenails from the rafters in the attic and find some twin eating bats to put up there with you!"

The twins give Ray a look of disbelief.

"Just go get ready for school or you're going to be late for the bus." Debra tells them.

The twins get up from the table and run past Ray and Debra on their way upstairs.

"Mom, can you drive me to school now?" Ally asks as she gets up from the table and walks into the living room.

"Yeah, sure sweetie." Debra replies. "Go get your stuff."

"Thanks," she says as she smiles and goes to get her things from upstairs.

"Will you at least think about this RV thing?" Ray asks as Debra gets up off the couch.

"Ray," she sighs as she gets her keys off of the kitchen table and walks back into the living room. "Why does this trip have to be your favourite?"

"Because it's cool," Ray replies.

Debra gives him a confused look.

"Just make sure the twins get on the bus," Debra tells him. "Because if they don't, you have to drive them."

"I'm ready mom," Ally says as she comes back downstairs with her backpack.

"OK hun, go wait out in the car, I'll be right out," Debra tells her.

"Ok," Ally replies and leaves the room.

"Come on Deb!" Ray pleads with her. "Just think about it?"

Debra waits for a minute before answering him.

"Alright," she says as she walks toward the back door. "I'll think about it.

Debra walks out the back door as Ray picks up the RV brochure and smiles stupidly to himself.


	2. Yes

"Hey you two!" Debra hollers at the twins as they run circles around her on the couch. "I'm not kidding around here! Go upstairs and get ready for bed now!"

"Why?!" they ask, laughing.

"Because it's nine o'clock and you're going to be too tired to go to school tomorrow if you don't get into bed now," she tells them. "And I'm not driving you when a bus goes right by here every single morning!"

"Who cares!" they holler in reply.

Everything becomes too much for Debra and she leans forward on the couch, resting her head in her hands.

"Mom?" the twins say as they stop running around and go to stand beside Debra. "Are you alright?"

Debra sits up straight again, tears running down her cheeks.

"Mom!" Michael exclaims, a worried look crossing his face. He'd never seen his mother cry like this before.

"Are you OK?" Geoffrey asks.

Debra wipes her eyes before answering the boys.

"You two know that mom has been under a lot of stress lately," Debra begins to explain. "Your dad explained it to you and you're old enough to understand that something very bad could have happened while I was in the hospital. You two don't listen to me at all and that's very frustrating and right now I just can't take it anymore."

"What do you mean?" Geoffrey asks, not fully understanding.

"When a woman has a baby sometimes she can get emotional for no reason at all," Debra tells them. "I usually try to keep it together in front of you kids, but when you do things like this I just can't take it."

"How come you have to cry?" Michael asks.

"I don't know hun," Debra tells him. "I guess that when I try everything to get you boys to listen and then you don't, I don't know what else to do."

"Oh," Michael replies, feeling a little guilty for not listening earlier.

"I know you guys want to have fun," Debra tells them. "But sometimes you have to do things you don't like. Sometimes we all have to do things we don't like."

"Like what?" Geoffrey asks.

"Do you think I wanted to stay in the hospital?" Debra asks.

"No," the boys reply together.

"That's right," Debra tells them. "I hate hospitals. I would much rather have been here at home with you guys and your sister and your dad, but I couldn't."

"Why?" Michael asks.

"Because I was hurt," Debra tells them. "And the baby could have died."

"But it's not alive yet," Geoffrey says with a confused look on his face.

"Yes it is," Debra explains to him. "And pretty soon you'll be able to tell by putting your hand on my belly. You'll be able to feel the baby moving inside."

"Really?" Geoffrey asks, his eyes lighting up. "That is SO cool!"

"Yeah!" Michael adds.

Debra smiles at them.

"Yes, it is," she replies. "But right now you two need to go up and get ready for bed, alright?"

"But we want to hear more about the baby!" Michael protests.

"Well, I'll make you a deal," Debra begins. "You guys go get ready for bed and go to sleep, and tomorrow after school you can ask me as many questions about the baby as you want to."

"Really?" Michael asks.

"Absolutely!" Debra replies with a grin on her face.

"Night mom!" the twins both holler, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek and running upstairs.

Debra sighs and leans back on the couch. What on earth did she just get herself into? Just as Debra is about to get up to go upstairs and make sure the boys are actually doing what she told them to, Ray walks in the back door with Ally.

"Hey Twinkie!" Ray exclaims as he and Ally come into the living room.

"Hey Ray," Debra replies.

"You alright mom?" Ally asks, noticing that her mother has been crying.

"Yeah sweetie," Debra replies. "I'm fine."

Ally smiles at her.

"Did you have fun at the movies?" Debra asks her.

"Yeah," Ally replies. "The boys didn't ruin it completely."

"Well that's good," Debra replies. "Can you go get ready for bed now while the boys are still up?"

"Yeah," Ally replies. "Sure mom."

"Thanks sweetie," Debra replies, giving her daughter a smile.

Ally heads upstairs as Ray sits down on the couch beside Debra and puts his arm around her.

"You sure you're alright?" he asks once he's sure Ally is out of earshot.

"Yeah," she tells him, leaning against him. "I had a moment but, I'm fine now."

"OK," Ray says as he kisses the top of her head.

"Go ahead," Debra says.

"What?" Ray asks, leaning back a bit to look Debra in the eyes.

"I know you want to ask me about the vacation," Debra tells him.

"You get that from me kissing the top of your head?" Ray asks.

"No," Debra says. "I get it from that stupid grin on your face."

"Well I wasn't going to ask you," he tells her. "I was going to give you all the time in the world you needed to think."

Debra just looks at Ray.

"Alright!" Ray hollers, giving up. "Did you think about it?

"Yes," Debra replies with a smile on her face. "And I talked to the doctor today he said that as long as I don't let myself get too stressed out, it would be perfectly safe for me to go."

Ray gets a huge smile on his face.

"So," Debra says. "If you want to rent an RV and drive across the country, I'll go."

"Yes!" Ray exclaims, giving Debra a kiss before jumping up off the couch and dancing around the room."

Debra laughs as she watches Ray dance around the room.

"Idiot," she says before Ray leans over the back of the couch and gives her another kiss.


End file.
